Today is My Last Day Being 41

First, thank you to EVERYONE who participated in the holiday blog hops for the last two weeks. Congratulations to Carla H. and Kimberly H., the winners from this blog. Stay tuned, opportunities always arise.

NEXT! In case you didn't see my social media blitz on Thursday, I have a new book out! If You Believe in Me is a Christmas short story from Entangled Flirts.

Three years ago, Amber Benedict fell in love with Kale Riker and pledged to wait for him to return from military service. Even though she rarely hears from him, she’s steadfast in her belief: he’s coming home to her, and soon. Then the government tells Kale’s family that he’s missing in action, and the Rikers have given him up for dead. Now the entire town is set on convincing Amber to let go of a dead man and move on.

Amber is certain Kale is still alive and on his way home, but can she hold out against an entire town pushing her to give up on love?

If You Believe in Me
by Natalie J. Damschroder
Contemporary Romance Short Story
Entangled Publishing, 2012
ISBN 13: 978-1-62266-869-4


Purchase From:
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Tomorrow I turn 42, and I can't wait. I'm really tired of the number 41. I never felt "old" until I read a local newspaper article about my writer's group back in April. They quoted me with "...says Natalie J. Damschroder, 41, who..." That number looked ugly in print.

But 42! Is not ugly! In fact, it's the answer to life, the universe, and everything, is it not? I know they never figured out the question, but maybe *I'm* the question!

Okay, that's getting too deep. In more ways than one. Moving on.

Forty-one was not a bad year for me. I just like even numbers better, I guess. Since my birthday is so close to the end of December, my personal year coincides with the calendar year. It's a nice way to keep things organized. I skipped my annual round-up post for 2011, so prepare to be bored out of your mind, as I gather TWO sets of data in a week or two. You've been warned!

We celebrate birthdays seriously around here. Not flamboyantly, but with intent. Tonight we went to dinner, because tomorrow my husband's NFL team plays a late game and his family always comes over to watch. My game is at 1:00, and so is the kids' soccer game. So they're getting me pecan pancakes from Cracker Barrel for breakfast, then I'll open presents, then they'll clean for the guests, then we'll do soccer, then I'll watch my football game in the bedroom while they cook dinner for the inlaws, then I'll probably do some writing* while their game finishes, and if I'm lucky, we'll get to watch more Firefly**! Sounds pretty good, right?

*Who am I kidding? If I get the bookstore gift cards that I ASKED FOR, I'll be shopping, not writing! LOL)

**We have indoctrinated Number Two into the cult of Firefly. We forced her to watch the first episode, and she liked it. So she said okay when we asked her to watch the next two. Then she asked to watch an episode on a school night! She didn't like Shindig as much, so she's resisting my push to make her watch Safe tonight. I think once we get to Jaynestown, there will be no more coercion necessary.

On Monday, I have The Next Big thing posting, thanks to being tagged by Misty Simon before my blog hops. Then it's CHRISTMAS! For all of my readers who celebrate, please have a very happy, safe, fun holiday.

For everyone else, keep the non-apocalypse party going!